The Opal Resurrection
by OwlFeather13
Summary: Post TAC. AF and HS vs Koboi and the LEP. This is version 1. Version 2 may or may not make a release, as I am currently working on a different fic that fits the plot of TLG. Includes my OC who I am sure you don't want to read about. After all, you're looking at Artemis Fowl fics because you are a fan of Artemis Fowl.
1. Another Fowl

**Fowl Manor**

Angeline Fowl paced in panic across the front terrace of Fowl manor. In her youth, she had travelled the world, but now it seemed to consist of only a handful of people. Only hours ago, Angeline received a call concerning her eldest son Artemis Fowl the Second. The boy had fallen ill due to an unusual combination of guilt and fouled magic that riddled his mind, tearing it apart. Angeline knew only too well that her son's fate was her own fault. Yes, it was Artemis Fowl the First that had taught young Artemis his criminal ways, but Angeline had never once contradicted her husband.

Angeline's son began his criminal career on the very same night that she fell into a depression through which she couldn't tell her child from her father. That night was eight years ago, and Artemis was ten. Quite by accident, Angeline forced her son to grow old in a few short years. Artemis rescued his mother and father from equally wicked dangers in the next couple of years, Angeline from her own mind, and Artemis Senior from the Russian mafia.

Angeline's thoughts were abruptly returned to the present in the form of an emerald boy adorned with crystalline wings appearing on the doorstep of Fowl Manor. Not a boy, a sprite.

The sprite offered a tiny bright green hand. "Corporal Chix Verbal of the LEP. You are Mrs. Fowl?" Angeline took his hand wordlessly. She had seen sprites in Opal Koboi's memories, but she had never met a fairy herself.

Opal Koboi was a psychotic pixie that possessed Angeline Fowl and tried to steal a lemur from Artemis several months ago. Angeline was left with shadows of all of Opal's memories of the fairy People. Many lesser minds would have lost the memories completely within a few minutes, but Angeline was a Fowl, a Fowl by marriage perhaps, but she had the trademark intelligence.

"Hello, Corporal. Shall we depart immediately?" Angeline trilled in fluent Gnommish. Most of Opal's memories were wraithlike and indiscernible, but the sight of the sprite brought the fairy tongue to the front of Angeline's mind with a slight tingling sensation. Chix opened the invisible LEP shuttle door and the two departed immediately.


	2. Achilles Heel

**J. Argon Clinic**

Angeline arrived at Artemis's room after six hours in the LEP shuttle. The scene she walked into was one out of a nightmare. Angeline recognized a demon standing with his back to her from Opal's memories. Her head started to ache. Pointing a Neutrino 3000 at a stunned Artemis was the pixie Opal Koboi herself, wearing a black LEP jumpsuit and a putrid scowl.

Angeline pulled one of Butler's Sig Sauers from her purse so fast that the pixie was still facing Artemis when Angeline shot a large hole in her foot. Opal went down savagely screaming "Fowl!".

The demon did not hesitate to charge straight at Angeline, but he did not expect her to spring nimbly to the side. In that moment, Opal's memories revealed an important piece of demon anatomy. The original Achilles' heel referred to the weak plating on a demon's heel and the nerve cluster below it. Angeline's next bullet ate through the electric blue demon foot. It had been awhile since Angeline used a gun; the bullet hit the left foot when she aimed for the right. Either way, the demon fell, temporarily paralyzed.

Angeline twisted back around to face the room without so much as another thought of the fallen demon. "Arty! Did they hurt you?"

It was a rare moment during which Artemis Fowl was stunned speechless. Angeline crossed the room and hog tied the moaning Opal with ear buds recently used by Myles to listen to Beethoven. Beethoven and the boy wasn't even three for heaven's sake. Artemis did not speak until Angeline rose and stepped away from the bleeding form.

"Mother." Very much out of character, Artemis reached out and hugged her. Angeline scrutinized him after he withdrew. The boy was completely unscathed, except for a burn on his neck in the shape of a rune. Despite the fact that Angeline saw Artemis only two days ago, it surprised her that her son's mismatched eyes were higher than her own.

"Mother, we've been betrayed. We have to leave. Butler and Juliet personally let Koboi in my room. Perhaps it is paranoia, but I feel the entire LEP could be against us as well."


	3. Little Sister

**Warlock Institute, Boulevard of Kings; Two Hours Earlier**

Thalia was a young demoness with rose red runes swirling over her thin gray hide. Demons from Hybras did not have families, and Thalia was delighted to discover she had an older brother №1 when she came to Haven. №1 was her idol and hero, having helped save the entire demon race, along with an elf Holly Short, a human Artemis Fowl, the demon Qwan, and Thalia's own mentor Qweffor.

When №1first shook Thalia's hand, he declared her to be a warlock like himself. Thalia doubted this at first. There was not a single demoness warlock in the fairies' long history, only demon warlocks. However, a few days with Qwan and Qweffor showed that Thalia had as much potential and power as her brother.

Thalia and №1 both attended the Warlock Institute of Haven, but they also began apprenticeships, which was traditional for demons. Qweffor was happy to take Thalia as an apprentice, though Thalia sometimes found him intimidating at almost five feet tall. The average height for fairies was exactly three feet tall, and Thalia was very average.

"Thalia, please concentrate." spoke Qweffor, or at least, he seemed to speak. Thalia and Qweffor's minds were linked, and his thoughts echoed in her head like a voice against Haven's many caves.

_Sorry, Qweffor,_ thought Thalia. She was currently practicing creating a reflective magical shield to protect her mind from forces like the _mesmer_. Thalia used to think Qweffor was a bit paranoid about this subject because his own mind had once been hijacked, though she wouldn't think this too loudly or Qweffor would hear. Yesterday, Thalia's doubts were quelled when Artemis Fowl and Holly Short had their wills stolen by the elf Turnball Root through dark magic, and the elf used them to try and kidnap №1.

Qweffor gasped when an alien force battered against the magical shield. To Thalia, it felt as if something were scratching the inside of her head with sharp claws made of ice. Thalia did not need to hear Qweffor's thoughts to know this was not part of the drill. The icy presence left the same metallic tang on her forked tongue as most of the holographic simulators in the Institute. However, the simulators could only be used during classes. In short, an unknown hostile machine was attacking their minds.

The attack was weak and easily dispelled, but that did not reassure Thalia that she was safe. Qweffor was equally unsettled. _The only fairy machine I am familiar with that actually attacks the mind is the mind wipe,_ thought Qweffor. Thalia chuckled out loud with relief. _There is nothing altogether dangerous about a mind wipe_, she thought, _though it is peculiar_. Thalia did not know just how wrong she was.


	4. Inside the Magna Field

**J. Argon Clinic; Present**

Angeline knew something was wrong the second she stepped out the door to Artemis's room. Blaring red lights accompanied by a siren activated. The boy stumbled in the doorway. An armed LEP guard whistling an inappropriately cheery tune appeared on one end of the hallway.

Angeline reached for her son with one hand while holding the gun aloft with the other. She sprinted in the other direction down the hall quickly enough that she was dragging Artemis. A Neutrino blast skimmed past Angeline's heels, which was odd. Guards generally were not to fire unless fired upon. Especially when the guard was supposed to be protecting its target. The elf's footsteps could be heard nearing her and Artemis.

"Hurry, son," is what she said. _I'm middle aged and have had three children, but I'm still more fit than Artemis, _is what she thought.Angeline blasted the motor on an automatic door that was sealing her and Artemis off from the shuttle bay while the thought played a light smile across her lips.

"The hospital is connected to the shuttle bay for the convenience of emergency vehicles," Artemis explained to Angeline as they entered the midnight gloom of a large room lit only by emergency lights. They vaulted over the fence blocking off the dormant shuttles from the loading dock. At two feet tall, this wasn't much of an accomplishment, even for Artemis. Their pursuer, however, was certainly slowed down.

"I have a theory," Angeline stated before moving to search for a specific logo on one of the shuttles. A silver ID number to the left of Angeline caught her eye. She took a step toward the shuttle, and a molten pain formed behind her eyes. Her surroundings melted into an indistinguishable stain, insignificant against a new flood of sound and color.

Memory after memory drowned Angeline Fowl. Every moment of Opal's schooling, from her fifth birthday to her fiftieth. Preschool as a tiny pixie less than a foot tall, studying simple arithmetics, algebra, and geometry. College with an otherwise all male class for science and technology. The beginning of her career as an engineer. Opal's rage, jealousy, and narcissism lined the memories, but stayed disconnected from Angeline's only true emotion; worry for Artemis. After reliving the process of designing the very same shuttle that sat silently in front of Angeline and Artemis, she returned to her senses.

Artemis was trying to pull Angeline to her feet. She did not remember falling to her knees. The episode lasted no more than a few seconds, but Angeline felt like she had aged several human lifetimes.

"Mother? Mom?" Concern wrinkled her son's brow.

Angeline rose and strode past Artemis. "I'll explain when you are safe," Angeline's statement stoppered her son's questions while she punched a code into a keypad on the door.

The iron door emitted a faint pneumatic hiss as it opened. Angeline stepped into the craft immediately, but Artemis hesitated in the doorway. Angeline recognized his calculating expression. Doubt. Obviously, her display of marksmanship with a gun, agility, and knowledge of Gnommish numerals had caught Artemis off guard. A Neutrino blast hit the hull of the shuttle with a hiss similar to the door. Artemis boarded.

Angeline yanked up a small section of the floor in the corner of the shuttle to reveal a tiny computer screen.

"It's a system override." Angeline noted while typing another code in Gnommish numerals.

"Koboi's backdoor, correct?"

Angeline nodded sharply and strapped on the safety harness of the pilot's chair. It was much too small and probably wouldn't hold against a serious hit. Without question, Artemis took the copilot seat. The engine made less noise than the door and lifted the craft into the turbulence of the magma chute to Tara.

"They are going to pursue us." Artemis stated.

Angeline actually laughed. "This is a supersonic shuttle programmed by Koboi. Opal's override infects sensors in adjacent chutes. The ship is undetectable. We can even communicate with the LEP mainframe undetected, or, at least, we could have eight years ago. There have probably been security upgrades since then." She laughed, but her son was right.

A few moments of stale silence in the shuttle were broken by Artemis. "I'm sorry mother, for lying to you so often." Angeline had expected questions, not this. "The fairy condition I developed, Atlantis Complex, is brought on by guilt. I did horrible things mother. How could I ever escape my guilt when it watches me from my own reflection?"

Angeline activated autopilot and rotated her chair to face her son. Coming from any other person, this last statement would be a sign of complete lunacy. Looking into Artemis's mismatched eyes, mostly his chocolate brown eye that had once belonged to Holly Short, Angeline understood.

Perhaps now was not the best time for a sentimental moment, but they may not get another chance for one. "It has always been Holly hasn't it?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"A character built from my subconscious declared undying love for Holly. I cannot deny to myself that I care for her." Angeline winced. She had not heard that her son's short lived mental condition included multiple personalities. "With №1's assistance, I recovered in mere hours, but I am not free of guilt. I was supposed to remain at the clinic for therapy." His voice became hushed. "I almost murdered her mother. My memory returned when №1 explained how he wiped Butler's mind in the past. I almost murdered Holly when I was ten years old. I was even _excited_, Mother, because of the diamonds I received for her. Since then, I have manipulated and kidnapped and lied to Holly. So much suffering and still, she cried when she thought I was dead."

The communication system crackled to life before Angeline could respond. Two heads were squeezed together on the screen. Occupying a small part of the corner was the face of Foaly the centaur. Butler's head took up the rest. "Artemis!" Foaly whinnied, "What are you doing on a joy ride when Holly Short has escaped? We are taking cover in police plaza and you should be, too. Commander Kelp is tracking you up E1 right now." So much for undetectable.

"Angeline?" Butler's voice drowned out Foaly's, "Am I seeing this right Foaly? On the security camera, you shot Captain Opal Koboi, and now you are piloting a LEP fighter shuttle?"

Artemis took a turn squeezing his head into the video feed. "_Captain_ Koboi? To use a common fairy analogy, you are more crazed than a dwarf in Howler's Peak! Wait, Foaly. What precisely do you mean by 'Holly Short has _escaped'_?" Angeline and Artemis's minds reeled. Either their world had gone insane, or Foaly was playing his worst practical joke yet, and Foaly had a very poor sense of humor.

"Holly Short! The elf who fueled the goblin rebellion, tried to murder us all, and possessed your mother!" Again, Angeline and Artemis thought the same thing. The world had simply gone insane. The video connection suddenly cut off, leaving the shuttle completely silent.

"You've been accessing Koboi's memories." It was a statement from Artemis, not a question. "Do you know how she has done this?"

"No, Koboi's memories only surface when something she remembers triggers them. Don't forget, Koboi could have orchestrated this escape after possessing me. She really hates you, by the way."

Artemis smiled that icy smile that many of his school teachers reported giving them nightmares. "Now, why is that?" The moment of humor did not last long, however, and Artemis's frown returned. "How did Koboi do it? It seems as if everyone in the LEP has had their mind wiped."

Angeline gasped and would have collapsed in her chair if not for the safety harness. Molten iron simultaneously seared and crushed her mind in on itself. "Mind wipe," she mumbled while another set of memories lit up. Most of them were of Foaly, while Opal was spying on him. Opal really hated Foaly. The last memory showed the malignant pixie hijacking a set of small devices, and giving them to a pixie that worked for Foaly as a lab assistant.

"This is bad," Angeline uttered when she recovered. "Fifteen years ago, Foaly built a mind wipe device that could affect an entire city at the request of the Council. His Magna-Field Mind Wipe was set up on the boundaries of every fairy city under the world. The Magna-Field doesn't function like the usual mind wipes. It replaces specific memories instead of letting the mind fill in the blanks. As long as the target is inside the Magna-Field, total recall isn't possible. Foaly didn't know, but several of the Council members- Adepha, Krate, Lamia, and Cyan- were planning a grand heist. Ironically, they stole large amounts of gold from humans all over the world. They feared word would spread of their activity, and it did. They were detained before they could activate the Magna-Field, however. Details seem to be missing on that subject, actually."

Artemis caught on quickly, as always. "Opal reprogrammed the Magna-Field Mind Wipe to be her own personal escape pod."

"Yes, Opal didn't have any particular grudge against Holly at the time, but the damned pixie thought it would be easiest to escape if she switched places with one of Foaly's close friends." Angeline paused as this fact sunk in to both herself and Artemis.

"Everyone believes Holly is Opal, everyone except us." Artemis gasped. Horror was written across his face. Angeline was sure her face mirrored her son's.

Angeline went on despite the escalating emotion. "Opal's program in the Magna-Field connects to the LEP mainframe. If it registers Opal in prison, it will wait a set time period and then activate. When it activated, everyone's memory was affected, and all the LEP files containing Holly and Opal were corrupted. It didn't activate when Opal was first caught because she wasn't in prison, she was in the J. Argon Clinic. The Magna-Field scans every person within its parameter. The Field recognizes Holly and Opal and excludes them from the wipe."

It was Artemis's turn to explain. "My first thought was that the Magna-Field doesn't work on humans, but Butler and Juliet are affected. Opal must not have thought to program the Field to register only _one_ Opal and _one_ Holly. Under most circumstances, even the mere idea of more than one of the same person coming up would be ludicrous. Holly's eye and DNA must have registered in the database."

Angeline tapped the crown of her skull, where Opal's memories had left her with a headache. "Opal left a piece of herself that registered as well."

"We need to deactivate the Magna-Field soon. Opal already had a demon convinced to tear off my limbs. Who knows how much damage Opal will do? Where are the Magna-Fields?"

Angeline's frown deepened. "I don't know. Opal programmed them before they were placed. She even set the mind wipe so the few people who knew about the Magna-Field would forget about it, in case someone caught on."

"Opal programmed this all before the goblin rebellion?" Angeline nodded to Artemis. "Someone should notice Opal's round ears, or Holly's blue eye. This act shouldn't hold together for long."

Artemis looked tired. Worry creased his forehead, and anxiety lined his eyes. Angeline knew he needed to be pushed if they were going to come out of this alive. "Long enough for Opal to murder all of her opponents. Artemis, this is your chance to truly make it up to Holly. Save her and redeem her of the crimes she did not commit." Angeline was glad to see the familiar spark return to Artemis's eye, the same one that appeared when he spoke of rescuing his father all those years ago.

The comm screen crackled to life for the second time. Again, Foaly and Butler were in the window. "Please turn around, Artemis. You and Angeline have been tagged as roque, and the LEP sent a pursuit shuttle." Foaly sounded desperate, and Angeline wondered wether that pursuit shuttle had orders to shoot.

Butler confirmed Angeline's fear. "They will shoot if necessary, Artemis. There is nothing we can do. I don't know what you were planning in the clinic, but it looks bad, even to us." Angeline thought of how she would react if Butler or Foaly shot Artemis in the foot. _It looks bad_ was a slight understatement.

Artemis spoke, and Angeline was certain he had a plan. "Holly has tricked us all, and she had control of Opal in the clinic. That is why Opal had a gun to my head. We can't explain over the communications system, but we are tracking Holly now. Holly still has control over Opal. Try to keep her away from any weapons or electronics. Maybe lock her in a room, so she can't hurt anyone."

Foaly appeared to believe them. Angeline almost sighed with relief. "I will personally make sure that is done. I trust you, Artemis. Good luck." Foaly and Butler turned as indistinguishable words echoed in the background. He paled. "It's too late. Opal just stole a shuttle identical to yours."

"D' Arvit!" Angeline swore, using Opal's Gnommish dialect, and activated the primary engine for the shuttle's supersonic flight. "If you can, redirect the shuttle tracking us to detain Opal. Under Holly's control, Opal won't hesitate to shoot us out of the sky and wreak havoc upon Haven."


	5. LEP Public Transport

**LEP OPs Booth**

Thalia and Qweffor set out to find Foaly as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, as quickly as possible was not very fast. Some kind of prison break had the citizens of Haven rushing around, and the traffic was backed up. The entire time they were on the Lower Elements Public Transport monorail, the icy presence kept a weak attack on their minds. Even worse, Qweffor detected the same icy presence tagging the mind of every civilian on the monorail.

The overhead gel speakers emitted three short tuba-like tones. Thalia was fond of tubas and most musical instruments. Hybras did not have music, or any fine arts. The demoness even remembered being kicked by her teacher Elizabeth for singing once.

Thalia's thoughts returned to the present when the broadcast tones were replaced by a singsong voice Thalia recognized as belonging to the LEP figurehead Corporal Frond. "This is an emergency broadcast. Public enemy number one Holly Short's escape from prison has been confirmed. Please report any information on Holly Short's whereabouts. Do not apprehend Short under any circumstances. Short is presumed armed and hostile. Also, two rogue fighter shuttles have been detected in E1. Civilians are advised to take cover immediately. Please proceed to a safe location. Further updates will be broadcasted. Have a good afternoon."

If Thalia's plated complexion would have allowed it, she would have paled. The broadcast left a stunned silence among the passengers of the monorail. The hush was quickly interrupted by the gel speaker's second announcement in as many minutes. The rounded tones of a gnome echoed along the monorail cabin.

"The monorail will proceed to a safe house in Police Plaza. Please remain calm for the duration of the trip," said the gnome with a quivering stutter that was anything but calm.

Thalia pushed her thoughts toward Qweffor. _Did Frond really say Holly Short?_ She could have whispered, but she didn't want to take any chances being overheard in light of recent events.

_I would have to be a hatchling to believe this is a coincidence. We have to get to Foaly immediately._

The rest of the five minute journey on the monorail was spent in near silence. Friends and family members mumbled empty reassurances to each other. Beyond this, no words broke through the nervous tension in the air.


	6. Tinfoil Hats

**Police Plaza**

An LEP corporal in a a square traffic suit directed newcomers toward the center of the plaza. Another officer was corralling civilians into the blast proof Pittoresque Movie Theater that resided in Police Plaza.

Thalia and Qweffor easily slipped away from the crowd and headed toward the LEP OPs Booth. After sidestepping a particularly slow officer complaining about an itchy helmet, the two demons reached the access hatch to Foaly's fortress. This in itself worried Thalia. If they could reach the heart of the LEP unhindered, any hostile could too.

Qweffor banged a clawed fist against the reinforced door. "Foaly, this is urgent! Let us in."

Thalia waved impatiently at the button size security camera. The shield in her mind was starting to itch and falter against the icy claws after more than two hours of constant attack.

After a moment, the doors silently retracted. Thalia rushed in with Qweffor on her tail, or rather, her tail stub. Demons no longer had tails.

The group already assembled in the cramped space of the booth was an unusual one. Qwan and Thalia's brother, №1, were sitting on a bench in the corner of the room. Two giants- Thalia assumed these were the Butlers who №1 told her about- rested next to them. On the far end of the bench, barely visible around the mud men, was a dwarf wearing a badge labeled "PI Mulch Diggums". The back of a centaur- and this is not a centaurs most pleasant aspect- was visible in a swivel chair in front of a computer screen.

"Thalia, what are we doing here? You have lessons scheduled in two minutes!" Qweffor roared, causing Thalia to jump. Her concentration slipped and she almost... _Almost what?_ That itch in the base of her skull was very distracting. She couldn't remember why she was here with such a strange bunch of people when she was supposed to be practicing her mental shields.

_Shields! I lost my shield!_ Thalia quickly rebuilt the barrier in her mind. Already, she could feel the icy claws scratching through her shield.

Thalia collapsed to her knees and reached out for her brother. "Magic," she gasped. Without question, №1 released a wave of red sparks despite his own exhaustion from the previous day. The magic spread from his outstretched hand and engulfed Thalia, replenishing her power and strengthening her shield. Thalia's magical empathy amplified, allowing her to feel the metallic icy claws scratching at the minds of everyone in the room.

Thalia expanded the reflective barrier, expelling the icy presence from Foaly's old office. Dizziness overtook Thalia as the claws scratched at her mind from all sides. She would have fainted, but №1 sensed her spell and reinforced the shield. Qwan and Qweffor added their power as well. The pressure subsided, but Thalia was left with a faint itch.

Thalia heard various gasps, groans, growls, and a whinny as memories returned to the occupants of the booth. Butler's eyes widened and his jaw tightened. "I let Opal in Artemis's room with a gun," the mud man said with disbelief. His tone increased in urgency. "Opal is chasing Artemis in a fighter shuttle."

Foaly was the first to react. Commander Trouble Kelp appeared on the centaur's main screen while live video feed from E1 appeared on another plasma panel. "Trouble! You have to get Opal Koboi out of that shuttle. Shoot her out of the sky if you have to. Its a trick! Its..." Foaly's words died in his throat. On the plasma screen, one of the two identical shuttles shot a small titanium shell at the other. The later was engulfed by an angry blue cloud of smoke, but came out unscathed.

Thalia heard the centaur mumble "Please be Opal," and saw the video on the screen switch to a camera labeled "Thermal", though she wasn't quite sure what this was. The surveillance equipment confirmed one pixie size life form next to the engines in one shuttle, while the engines in the other shuttle stood alone.

Thalia wasn't quite sure what she was seeing on the screen. Butler sprang from the bench and grabbed Foaly, hitting his head on the ceiling in the process. "Tell me its a malfunction." The words came out of Butler's mouth choked.

Foaly wordlessly typed on his old fashioned keyboard. More thermal images appeared. They all looked the same to Thalia. "There is still a point eight percent chance that all the thermals failed at the same time, or someone hacked my computer," Foaly stuttered hopefully.

Thalia, along with most of the assorted group, had not yet caught on. She did not understand until Butler next spoke.

"Artemis, Angeline. They can't be gone!" Butler's howl matched that of a bull troll. "What will we tell Artemis Senior? And the twins?" A single tear escaped his eye, a historic moment for Butler.

Thalia was not sure how the patchy red and green screen meant a friend had died, but she could feel the emotion escalating in her comrades, even without magical empathy. _With_ magical empathy, a river was pressed from Thalia's eyes and overwhelming grief that was not hers crushed her from all sides. Everyone forgot all of their previous thoughts for a moment. The shield would have fallen again if Thalia had not held it up. It was overwhelming, and the itch in the base of her skull was not helping.

"What will we tell Holly?" Foaly squelched, and then blinked, realizing what he just said. "Oh gods, Holly! A full Retrieval team is currently trying to track her through downtown Haven." This said in plain Gnommish, everyone but the mud girl understood. Grief was not forgotten, but a crisis had to be prevented. For the most part, everyone put a clamp on their emotions and returned their attention to the imminent danger Haven was in. Thalia almost smiled. She had never known such selfless people before, especially not on Hybras.

"How did this happen?" The dwarf Mulch Diggums inquired, searching for someone to blame.

This was the first question Thalia had an answer to. "Some kind of mass mind wipe is affecting everyone in Haven. Qweffor and I detected it about two hours ago and came looking for you. We didn't know you left the hospital and came here, though. We're holding a shield up against the mind wipe right now, but it won't last forever."

"That's my sister, Thalia, by the way," №1 piped from his corner of the bench. №1 was going to bring Thalia to meet his friends later that very day. Obviously, social visits were canceled under the current circumstances.

Ignoring the introduction, the centaur trotted over to a cabinet in the corner. Thalia expected Foaly to produce some kind of fancy mechanical device. Instead, the centaur stepped away holding what appeared to be a large roll of tinfoil.

"Gonna make yourself a thinking cap Foaly?" Mulch goaded, though his heart was not really in it. Foaly placed the tinfoil hat he crafted on his head.

"Haven has a system of eight mind wipe devices I built installed on its perimeter. The Magna-Field Mind Wipe uses a unique magnetic field that blocks specific patterns within the brain from connecting to the rest. It that can be deflected by the tinfoil hats I used to wear. I was suspicious that someone would use them against Haven and my suspicions have been confirmed." For once, no one interrupted Foaly's technical lecture. Thalia felt the echoes of Artemis Fowl in the minds of the group, and they only half listened. "The primary purpose of the Magna-Field is to quell the People's desire for the surface. We had too many good fairies being arrested or killed after making a break for the surface."

Thalia could feel the icy claws retreat from the shield as Foaly handed out triangular tinfoil hats. She sighed with relief upon donning her own hat, though it clashed with her lavender robes. The itch subsided almost immediately. Thalia slowly released the mental shield from the group, but was careful to keep the barrier protecting her own mind functioning.

Holly's face appeared on all the plasma screens without any apparent action on Foaly's part. Three characteristics stood out to Thalia almost immediately. The first was a malevolent grin stretched across the elfin face. The second was the angry glare that made up Holly's two chocolate brown eyes. The third was that Holly's ears had been rounded.

Even to the technology deprived demons, it was obvious that the Holly onscreen was a computer simulation devised by Opal Koboi. This did not make Holly's words less unsettling.

"Artemis Fowl is dead!" The simulation screeched with glee. "Without the mud boy, you cannot hope to unravel my plans." Thalia growled with both primal savageness and sentient fury, as only a demon can.

The simulation continued to laugh, and Thalia roared, "He will be avenged! The LEP have you cornered Holly!" For added affect, Thalia let small flames roll out of the corners of her eyes. Most warlocks did not possess any offensive magic, but Thalia was a demoness warlock, the first of her kind. The limits of her magic were a mystery.

Even while Thalia was screeching at the screen, she projected her thoughts to the others. _Play along. Let Opal think she has already won._

Then, to Foaly, she thought, _Make sure Opal can't see us or hear us. It will probably take her around three seconds to realize we aren't under the influence of the Magna-Field._

Everyone except for the other demons looked surprised to hear Thalia's thoughts. Thalia hoped Opal wouldn't notice the giants looking at her in astonishment.

Mulch- always the one for melodrama, as Thalia would come to know- came to her aid. The dwarf leapt from the bench and slid to his knees in front of the monitor. "What have you done with Opal?" Mulch howled with despair. Actual tears poured freely from the dwarf's large eyes.

Holly's face froze on the screen before disappearing altogether. "I shut off all external signals. Opal can't see or hear us," Foaly explained.

Mulch was wiping off his face. "Dwarves can cry at will. If we swallow toxins tunneling, we expel them through our eyes." Usually, Mulch enjoyed bragging about his species' natural talents, but Thalia could feel the emptiness of his words.

Interrupting Mulch's lecture on dwarf anatomy, Butler said, "Our greatest enemy Opal Koboi has been resurrected. We have to come up with a plan, like Artemis would. We need to catch Opal and we need to save Holly. It sounds like our best option is to disable or destroy the mind wipe devices and get the LEP on our side."

"There _may_ be a couple problems with that plan," Foaly whinnied. "Opal will most likely be guarding the Magna-Fields. Even if the Magna-Fields are completely unguarded, we don't know where they are."

Qwan spoke up here. "You built the Magna-Field and you don't know where it is?"

"I _designed_ the Magna-Field," came Foaly's defensive reply. "Hundreds came off the assembly line. You think I installed them all myself? If we can find and destroy two, the whole field goes down."

"Who did set up the magma things?" Mulch asked. "I doubt they assembled themselves."

"A group of Council members and the Commander at the time contracted the land and fairy labor for the project. All the files on the Magna-Field Mind Wipe disappeared from our system ten years ago. That was when I began wearing the tinfoil hat."

Juliet leapt from her seat on the tiny bench. "Let's go find these Council members."

Foaly whinnied impatiently. "Do you think I would still be sitting here if it was that simple?" The answer was yes, but Thalia kept her mouth shut. "Every fairy that worked on this project is dead, except for me. I am confident Opal is behind the deaths. Adepha was arrested but disappeared from her cell. Solinium flares left in her cell suggested she was blue-rinsed. Cyan and Lamia were also convicted, but they disappeared before they were arrested. Two months later, a hermit dwarf found Cyan's body in a curry warehouse. When Krate left for a business trip in Atlantis, a rock falling into the Atlantic Trench punched a hole in his shuttle. The pressure crushed her." Foaly went quiet, and Thalia had to lean forward the hear him. "We know Julius was murdered by Opal personally."

Several precious seconds were passed in silence before any ideas came to Thalia, and even these were only theories.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Mulch whined, though he was staring at the floor and Thalia wasn't really sure who he was addressing the question to. She answered anyways.

"Perhaps we do have an option, but I don't think you will like it."


	7. Video Feed

**E1; Ten minutes ago**

Angeline's sensors picked up an incoming attack shuttle. Glancing at the monitor, Angeline noted that Koboi's ship had a newer engine. Just their luck. Even at supersonic speed, they were not going to beat Opal in a race. She would have glanced nervously out the window, an old habit of hers, but the supersonic shuttles did not have any windows.

Angeline typed faster. If this didn't work, they would most likely be blown to bits in a mid-air fire fight. This thought did not appeal to Angeline. She desperately hoped Artemis's theory was right.

A plasma green monitor on the lower right hand corner of the dashboard lit up. The first half of her son's prediction was right. The monitor confirmed that the approaching shuttle was preparing to shoot a short range blue rinse missile. Angeline hit send on her string of code that would, in theory, replace Opal's video feed with an image of their shuttle being hit by the blue rinse.

In reality, the blue rinse exploded halfway between the two shuttles under the influence of a small grenade. Artemis threw a sheet of cam foil over Angeline and quickly wrapped himself in the same material. Their heat signatures were successfully blocked, and any thermals would reveal the two passengers of the shuttle to have completely vanished. Opal had been fooled by thermals before, however, and Angeline wasn't sure it would happen again.

A few agonizing moments passed under the cam foil. Next thing she knew, Opal reactivated her supersonic flight and disappeared down the chute. It would only take her minutes to reach the unsuspecting city of Haven.

Angeline waited for Artemis to determine it safe to remove the foil. A monitor in front of her son detected another set of thermals that were scanning the shuttle. Opal did not believe they were dead after all.

Artemis waited a whole five minutes after the thermals shut off before tearing off the foil, like a wrapper off of a chocolate bar. Angeline didn't remember Artemis eating chocolate once in his life.

Opal was now almost ten minutes ahead of them."Locate Holly Short," Artemis commanded the computer in Gnommish. Angeline wondered why no LEP operatives had disabled the rogue shuttle's connection to LEP surveillance in Haven.

The computer's reply had Foaly's voice. "The LEP suspects Holly Short of being in downtown Haven's tourist district. Short was last seen in the J. Argon Clinic around two hours ago. Short activated the ion absorbing feature in a stolen Shimmer Suit, my own invention." Even the centaur's computer simulation was smug about his technology.

Video feed appeared on the screen, showing Holly leaving Artemis's room. An LEP guard smiled and waved to her, whistling the same cheery tune from before. A blank look overcame the elf's face. "The Magna-Field must have activated at this time." Angeline commented. The guard raised his Neutrino and fired a shot at Holly.

Unfortunately for the guard, Holly heard the elf's rustic tune end mid whistle and spun to face him. Holly dodged to the left and shot the elf while she was halfway through her barrel roll. Before he fainted, the guard mumbled, "The LEP will find you." Angeline noticed a slight hint of admiration in her son's eye. It was a good shot.

Holly proceeded to sprint down the hallway toward the shuttle bay. It looked like the guards suit absorbed most of the shock, because he got back up. Corporal Grub, for he was the guard, fired a wide burst of shots that all missed. When Holly reached the open doors, she activated her Shimmer Suit and disappeared from sight. The video feed froze on the screen.

Angeline frowned. "Why did Holly wait to activate her suit? The Corporal knew which way she went. Unless..."

Artemis finished her conclusion for her. "Unless she never left the hospital, and it was a trick. Computer, scan all video feed in J. Argon Clinic from oh eight hundred twelve to present for anomalies."

Foaly's form of a loading bar showing an acorn emitting sparks appeared on the screen. Another valuable minute was spent waiting for the system to finish its scan. "Three anomalies detected," came Foaly's voice. The video flared to life.

The first scene took place only two minutes after Holly disappeared. The door to Artemis's room opened of its own accord. Artemis was sitting on his bed with his eyes tight shut. Holly's sourceless voice echoed in the room. She sounded rather drowsy. "Have you noticed anything unusual Artemis?"

Her son's reply came, but he did not open his mismatched eyes. "Everything seems unusual today Holly. I have been meditating." The door did not open again. A light thump echoed from the corner.

Angeline looked at Artemis, the one sitting next to her, "Perhaps I should have opened my eyes." He said, as if he should expect his friends to be invisible.

The second scene showed Artemis and Angeline's flight from the hospital room. The demon that should have been in immeasurable amounts of pain from his wounded foot stood up to chase Angeline, Artemis, and the security gnome. A narrow burst of white light with no source felled the demon. Someone invisible had their backs and they didn't know it.

The scene on the screen changed for the last time. This video feed was live. Once again, Artemis's room was visible. A light in the corner was flicking on and off, though the nuclear battery showed constant power consumption. It was as if something was passing in front of the light. Or maybe someone was trying to signal someone else.

Artemis watched for a minute, then shut off the screen. "Holly was using the fairy counterpart to Morse code. Her exact phrase was 'Fowl help. LEP comm made for my head dead or alive.' The message repeats. Holly is desperate. Anyone would be. There is one detail I am rather unsure of, though."

This time, Angeline finished her son's conclusion. "Why do the LEP think Holly is in the shopping district if she is still in the clinic?"

**J. Argon Clinic**

Angeline steered the touchy shuttle as close to the clinic doors as possible. She did not believe the shuttle's cham skin disguise would fool anyone for long. "Stay here, Artemis. Keep the engines running. Leave if there is any sign of Opal." Her son nodded, but Angeline doubted that meant he agreed.

Drawing the Sig Sauer, Angeline leapt from the shuttle at a run. Despite recent events, the hospital door was left wide open. The corridor seemed much shorter without Neutrino blasts being fired at her back. Angeline did not hesitate to rush into Artemis's room. "Come on Holly," She huffed. The sprint left her short of breath.

An approaching figure shimmered into visibility. "Mrs. Fowl?" questioned Holly.

"Later, we have to go."

Again, the dash down the hall only lasted a few seconds. Suspicions crept along the edges of Angeline's mind. Angeline came to a halt before entering the shuttle's open door. The faint smell of a Neutrino bolt hung in the air. "Something is wrong," she mumbled to the elf, barely moving her lips.

"I've got left," Holly mumbled back. Angeline nodded slightly. Holly tapped her toe once against the pavement, and the two sprang sideways through the shuttle door. Angeline landed in the ship back to back with Holly, or perhaps leg to back. Angeline was nearly six feet tall, and Holly was barely three.

Artemis was cuffed to a small passenger seat on her side of the shuttle, apparently unconscious. Angeline rolled to the floor. A Neutrino blast punched the air where her head had been. The faint whistle of another shot hummed through the shuttle. Coming out of the maneuver facing Holly's side of the shuttle, Angeline saw an LEP officer lying on the tiles to the left of the door. It had been a trap.

Holly was struggling to roll Corporal Kelp out of the shuttle. Angeline grabbed Grub by the waist in one hand and tossed him a safe distance from the ship, though she kept his Neutrino 2000. Holly was already at Artemis's side when Angeline closed the door.

"He's out cold. He was hit with a low power blast from that gun your holding. He'll wake in a couple of minutes." Holly punched in the factory code to unlock the cuffs holding Artemis. They clicked open. "How typical of Grub to take the time to cuff someone unconscious and forget to change the lock code."

Holly buckled herself into the pilot seat while Angeline secured her son in one of the passenger safety harnesses. The shuttle took flight the second Angeline fastened her own harness in the copilot chair.

"I received Intel on my own _escape_ from Atlantis, fainted in the clinic with my Shimmer Suit on, and woke with Opal bound next to me and a demon chasing you two from the clinic," Holly summarized rather bluntly for the strangeness of situation. "Explain."

Angeline explained the events of the day over the next several minutes while Holly piloted the shuttle away from Haven, where they were less likely to be caught. At every turn of the tale, shock took a deeper hold on Holly's features.

When Angeline fell silent, Artemis spoke up. She jumped in her seat and almost reached for her new Neutrino. She had not realized Artemis was awake. "Mother, the Magna-Field was programmed fifteen years ago. Is it possible that demon minds are unaffected? №1 would certainly be helpful right now."

"I don't know. We can try to contact him and see."

Angeline silently pulled open the video feed from J. Argon Clinic. A few minutes after Artemis and Angeline fled on the shuttle, №1, Butler, Juliet, Foaly, a dwarf, and another demon all left the clinic together. Angeline ran through several more LEP surveillance cameras. She followed the group until they reached the LEP OPs Booth, which did not have video open to the general LEP.

Angeline groaned as a dull ache formed in the base of her skull. The irritation exploded into a fiery pain. Faint memories that were not her own fluttered behind her eyelids. Opal had hacked into Foaly's security system on several occasions in the past. Following the instructions Opal did not know she was giving, Angeline accessed the video.

Angeline saw Foaly and Butler call their own shuttle the first time. Commander Kelp interrupted the call and ordered the centaur to follow the case of Holly's breakout instead of wasting time with the deranged mud men. Butler coughed in the background, and the Commander suddenly decided to leave. Perhaps he was remembering the occasion on which Butler defeated Trouble Kelp's entire Retrieval Squad without the use of a weapon.

As soon as Trouble left, Foaly opened the video feed again. "Please turn around, Artemis. You and Angeline have been tagged as roque, and the LEP sent a pursuit shuttle." Foaly said, sounding desperate. Angeline sped up the tape. She remembered the other end of that conversation and watching it again would not help.

After only a couple of minutes, a change showed on the screen. A half an hour ago, two figures appeared outside the OPs Booth. Another signal interrupted the feed, but it only took Angeline another minute to bypass the secondary security measure. "Foaly, this is urgent! Let us in." The larger of the two could be heard through the door. Angeline's eyebrows rode silently up her forehead as the scene unfolded before her.

"The demons do not cease to amaze, do they?" Artemis was watching over Angeline's shoulder. "Holly, can you access the old chute the demoness was referring to with this shuttle?"

"Yes, but it won't be a comfortable flight. The access is still cluttered with debris. You think their plan will actually work?" Holly's skepticism battled with hope in her voice.

"No, Opal is going to interfere. We need to be there before she arrives."

Holly spun the shuttle in a tight circle that generated several pounds of horizontal G force, despite the ships internal pressure stabilizer. Angeline's stomach lurched against her insides. It was a good thing her nerves prevented her from eating on the shuttle to Haven. The food would not have stayed with her during the next few minutes. Artemis's last meal certainly didn't.


	8. Ashes

**E37 Terminal**

Tragedy hung thick in the air, an echo that survived almost five years after the death of Commander Julius Root. Seven pairs of feet stirred long untouched clouds of soot through the dormant chute- Foaly's two were ordered to stay at the OPs Booth. Thalia coughed, and she wondered whether or not she had just breathed in the last of the elf Julius Root. What a horrid thought. Her brother was never so morbid.

Thalia proceed to count the bolts along the terminal wall, until she stood at a precise spot in the center of the room. "Here. He died here."

The three other demons formed a triangle around her while the two giants stood guard at the entrances to the terminal. The dwarf stood by with extra tinfoil and a pair of pants.

Uncertainty filled №1's features. "Thalia, maybe I should go. What if something goes wrong?"

"We need all the skill we can get in this circle as it is. If I take your place, you will never make it back." Thalia was determined to help in any way she could. This entire scheme was based on her own theory, and she wasn't letting anyone else go.

Qweffor sighed. He personally proved that this rescue should work. When Qweffor first returned from Hybras, he worked endlessly to try and regain his own body. How he got stuck in the body of another demon is another story completely.

Eventually, Qweffor proved he could disintegrate his lab mouse and reassemble it using the blueprints lade out for its body by its mind. The process was remarkably similar to the disassembly and reassembly of a person in the time stream. Qweffor's plan was to restore his own body, but at the last minute he decided he was rather fond of his extra two feet of height and twenty pounds of muscle. Plus, he had gotten over the twitches and loss of bowel functions that came with the body his mind did not fit in.

"Ok. We're ready when you are Thalia."

Thalia nodded. She didn't dare speak. A sudden bubbly sickness filled her stomach at the thought of what might happen in the next few seconds. Or, rather, five years ago. The three demons around her summoned their magic in a rising hum and sent her into the time stream in a flash of power and light. Thalia felt a slight tingling as everything faded around her. She solidified the barrier around her mind, knowing just how vital it was that it held.

A rush of pressing smoke flew in a torrent around her. Thalia felt herself fall out of the time stream, but her body did not solidify as it should have. An overpowering inferno surrounded her, consumed her, but she had no brain to sense it. She could feel a flickering force in the distance. A fading conscious stood out directly in front of her. She stretched her shield and grasped the mind in the fraction of a second it existed without its body.

Thalia felt herself being tugged backwards, as if someone grabbed her from behind. She was back in the time stream. On the other end, only ten seconds passed. Ten seconds is too long in a fire fight.


	9. A Display of Fireworks

**Chute E37**

Angeline huffed out air as the shuttle came to a sudden halt. She had not realized she was holding her breath. Holly's alarmed voice rang in her ears. "It's Opal, closing in on the terminal."

Angeline grabbed three pairs of filtered earplugs and handed them to the occupants of the shuttle. Chances of a mid-air firefight taking place were high, and their eardrums could be blown out.

"Shoot her with the fiber tipped missiles. If any make contact, we can disable her entire ship." Holly activated a set of sixteen of the missiles at Angeline's request. For added affect, Holly aimed the shuttle's Neutrino wave at the chute behind Opal and pushed the button. Unfortunately, Opal fired at the same time.

The result was spectacular. That is, spectacular for anyone outside the radius of the various blasts and explosions. Holly's Neutrino wave rebounded off the cave wall and hit Opal from behind. Opal's laser blast made direct contact on the port wing of their own shuttle in an explosion of metal and smoke. Both shuttles rocketed off course dangerously close to solid rock walls.

In the middle of the shuttles turned projectiles, an array of fireworks joined the flashing red lasers and glaring yellow Neutrino. Several missiles were blasted off course by the laser and a pair of bio-bombs rocketed toward the shuttle. Dumb luck saved Angeline, her son, and the elf when both of Opal's bio-bombs crashed headfirst into a pair of fiber-tipped missiles. Blinding red sparks and gouts of flames shot from the missiles and blue smoke erupted in a wide arc from the bio-bombs. Completely unrecognizable through the deafening onslaught of sound came a distant snap and the emergency alarms in the nearby terminal.

Both shuttles ricochetted cleanly into the terminal without passing through the deadly streaks of the bio-bomb rampaging through the air. Shrapnel pierced Angeline's harness midair and she tumbled sideways out of the hole in the ship, landing with nothing more than a pair of bruises and a piece of metal embedded in her arm. Her subconscious vaguely recognized the sight of a demoness disappearing from the terminal in a flash of pure light as she fell.

All of this happened over three seconds. The timing was so incredible, the unlikeliness of the events so inconceivable, none of the survivors of the event even knew what happened until security tapes were reviewed later.

Opal rose from the wreckage ten feet from Angeline. Opal had a gun. Angeline didn't. Springing to her right, Angeline dodged Opal's first shot. She charged straight into Opal before the pixie could fire a second time. Angeline completely forgot the pixie's small height, and only her legs made contact. The two went tumbling straight into the center of the warlocks' circle, knocking down Qwan.

More than one curse of "D'Arvit!" was heard as an indistinguishable grey shape appeared directly over Angeline's head. Miraculously, a demoness fell on top of Angeline's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Another figure landed on top of the first one. An elf. Completely naked.

Everyone froze when they saw the Commander, even Opal. Julius drew a breath as he saw himself. The metal device of Opal's blew off his clothes and knocked him out, but he was otherwise unharmed. His broken ribs were even healed. "Holly, how did you...?" His words died in his throat as he actually saw his surroundings. He was sitting on someone. A giant. He drew a breath to yell but no words came out. There was a _demon_, and actual demon next to him. He drew another breath. There were _four_ demons. They were extinct. Again, he tried to yell and gasped like he had gills instead of lungs. There were mud men, four mud men, in the terminal. He spluttered once more. A dwarf, a pixie, and an elf became visible when he blinked again. They were all wearing _tinfoil hats_.

"Breath, Julius," Holly ordered, and shoved a tinfoil hat on his head. Everyone else unfroze. The convict Mulch Diggums handed him a pair of trousers. _I must be dead_, Julius thought, though some part of him that was still slightly sensible pulled on the pants.

Yet another impossible character registered in the elf's overwhelmed brain. Opal Koboi leapt to her feet and grabbed the nearest mud man and kicked him to his knees. This one had just stumbled out of the remains of a shuttle, and now had a laser gun aimed at his head. The gathering froze up once more. Julius resumed spluttering as his eyes fed his brain with images. The mud man before him, with a fairy gun to his head, had one chocolate brown eye and one sea blue. Holly's brown eye. The widow's peak cresting his dark hair, his deep blue eye, his pale white face. It just didn't make sense. The malevolent mud boy Julius remembered was around four feet tall, short enough to fit in large fairy gear. _This_ mud man was over five feet tall. This was obvious even on his knees. His gaze was far from malevolent or devious, it was open, trusting, calm, a thousand and one things one would never associate with Artemis Fowl.

"Artemis, your alive!" The largest of the mud men, Butler, was equally surprised by the sight of the mud man.

Suddenly, Julius's frayed mind supplied him with an explanation. If Artemis Fowl was involved, _anything_ was possible. He finally found his voice. "Fowl, what did you do?"

"Shut up!" Opal screeched over the still blaring alarms in the terminal. "Give up or the mud boy dies!"

Artemis was very calm for having a gun at his head. "We both know you have already been defeated Koboi. You really shouldn't be giving orders when you have a gun to your head."

Before the pixie could screech another syllable, a Neutrino blast hit Opal square in the back. The strange assemblage of people looked around in confusion. A bedraggled sprite wearing a tinfoil hat walked slowly toward the mass.

"Thank you, Lamia," Artemis's words left a strange echo in the room, despite the sirens. The name was familiar. "You don't remember me, but we met in Ho Chi Minh City six years ago. I recognized you almost immediately when I saw your LEP file. Opal poisoned you with alcohol and left you to rot on the surface when she was covering up the Magna-Field, correct? She left you alive to bear a seeker-sleeper programmed to register as Holly if the Magna-Field activated. This would buy Opal time. That is, if you were still on the surface. She did not know you returned to Haven when I cured you of the alcohol addiction."

Lamia nodded dumbly. She didn't know how else to react to this mud man. Most of the dialogue rolled right off of Julius. One phrase stuck and echoed. _Six years ago. Six years ago_. The mud boy's first fairy venture took place only two years previously.

Artemis noted the shock ringing Julius's face. "I'm sorry Commander. Four years have passed since you last set foot in Haven City." His voice lowered, now very sympathetic by his usual standards. "I understand how you feel. Holly and I suffered from same experience less than a year ago. I acquired one of her eyes in a time tunnel." Julius swung his head around to Holly. Her mismatched eyes mirrored Artemis's. _It was true_.

Another alarm joined the first. An LEP Retrieval team appeared from behind a corner in the tunnel wall. Angeline spoke up. "We're out of time. Commander, where are the Magna-Field devices?"

Julius was too overwhelmed to think clearly. An answer was not coming from him. Instead, Lamia pointed to one of the frayed shuttles, or behind it. "You lot smashed up that one pretty good. That's why I came here in the first place. I already disabled one. That Retrieval squad has been on my tail the whole time."

The Retrieval squad led by Commander Kelp himself entered the terminal at a full run. They stopped dead about halfway to the group spread around the warlock circle. "By the gods..." Trouble mumbled.

The troop was definitely caught off guard by the sight before them. Lamia, the ex-Council member, Artemis Fowl, and his mother were all supposed to be dead. There, in the middle of the mess, stood a half-naked Julius Root. The customary beet red returned to Root's complexion. "Trouble has been promoted to Commander. Have I just been dumped out of the force?"

Holly sprang forward and hugged him. Tears dripped of her face in a glistening river and her voice cracked. "Julius, we thought you were dead. They had a funeral, and they didn't even let me go."

"Holly, I'm sorry!" Artemis blurted in the height of the emotion. His own face was marked by the single shining streak of a tear. Angeline knew what was coming, but the rest of the assembled group was completely stunned. Her son was as choked as Holly. "I almost murdered you. I'm sorry."

"Murdered?" Root echoed.

Holly slowly withdrew from the Commander. Carefully, she strode over to Artemis where he was still kneeling in the ashes and hugged him. "Artemis, none of us would be here without you." Then, she kissed him. It was a simple act, a motion as delicate as a spider weaving a strand of silk. It was simple, but it left behind more amazement than any event that day.

Wonder rolled in waves from Artemis's every pore. "I have been so easily forgiven."

Holly smiled a warm, welcoming, shining, forgiving smile. "Easily? You saved my life dozens of times and brought me back from the dead once. I doubt anyone else under the world would think that was easy."

Opal began to sit up halfway through this exchange. Trouble shot her with a stun blast without even looking away from Artemis and Holly. The two remained motionless, just staring at each other, for a long time. Trouble cuffed Koboi and carried her out to the prison car. Still they did not move.

Thalia was the fairy to interrupt the silent moment. It may have stretched on forever without her. She skipped through the ashen terminal until she reached Holly and Artemis. "Thank you. You saved me and my brother from Hybras as well Artemis Fowl." Hugging the human and the elf- and startling them- Thalia went on. "Queffor showed me that memory from Abbot's point of view. You were incredible! We tried to recreate the shot backwards through time, but we never managed it. We had dozens of tries and you had one!"

Holly smiled once more. "You're a clean shoulder-shot now, eh?" Angeline was familiar with the LEP slang for a marksman. The term developed when the first Neutrinos came off the line. The nuclear powered blasts were most effective when they hit the shoulder blade or the collar bone. No one was sure why.

A thoughtful expression took Artemis's face. "It seems I inherited the skill from my mother." He turned toward Angeline. "But when did you learn to use a gun?"

Angeline laughed. "It's been years since I was in the field. After I finished college, I was recruited by the early version of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, years before they were publicly formed. I've told you about London. I grew up there, and I moved on to fight terrorism. I met your father on an assignment. I infiltrated a private party in The Ivy in London. I was ordered to leave after we realized that none of the men were terrorists, but they were going to kill Artemis Senior. That was the last time I used a gun before today."

Holly's inquiry came next. "_You_ were a Recon jock?"

Angeline answered. "The only woman on the SRR at the time. Although, they were a relatively new group."

Mulch trotted over to the circle formed around Julius, who was not keeping up with the conversation. He was rubbing his temples. "What an uncanny set of parallels," Mulch stated with mock realization. "The girly Recon jock that disobeyed orders and fell in love with the criminal Artemis Fowl."

Mulch had trotted _too_ close to the circle. Holly punched him in the arm. Trouble chose that moment to return. "The passenger shuttle is here."

A collective sigh signaled the relief of the group. The terminal to E37 was a dreary location riddled with ash and rubble; they were eager to leave.

Angeline caught sight of the shuttle and a light tingling filled her head. "Opal was holding back a lot of upgrades she built. Perhaps I should speak with Foaly about these designs."

Holly smiled again. The end of a crisis left a general euphoria in people. "Foaly never had a partner before." Angeline smiled too. None of the fairy People knew Artemis Fowl's mother by name. Perhaps they would soon.


End file.
